I Didn't Mean For It to Happen
by Chargedlion
Summary: "It's true though," Maya replied with a smirk. Riley just rolled her eyes and started crossing the street. Maya was about to follow, but she saw a car coming; coming way too fast. "Riley! Look out!" she yelled while running towards her.
1. Chapter 1

A guest requested a angst one-shot, but I'm taking it further with a new Rilaya story.

This Fanfic is rated T for injuries and some hardcore feels

Fist-bump*

It was like every normal day for Riley and Maya. Until it wasn't.

The two friends were walking on the sidewalk, just talking and laughing. "Maya! You can't say that!" Riley complained with a giggle and a slight blush.

"It's true though," Maya replied with a smirk.

Riley just rolled her eyes and started crossing the street.

Maya was about to follow, but she saw a car coming; coming way too fast. "Riley! Look out!" she yelled while running towards her. Maya pushed her out of the way in time, but not in time for herself.

"Maya!" Riley wailed when she turned around to see Maya unconscious on the ground. "Oh my gosh, this is all my fault...," she whispered to herself while tears streamed down her face. She got closer as she heard the distant siren of an ambulance.

Maya's leg was bent at an awkward angle, but there wasn't too much blood.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered as the paramedics whisked Maya off to the hospital.

Riley now sat in the waiting room, scared, tired, and crying. She felt so guilty about all of this. If only she had paid more attention to rhe road..

Cory and Topanga were there too, but unfortunately Maya's mom was caught up at the diner.

Riley looked up when a doctor came towards them and immediately asked, "Is Maya okay?! Is she going to be okay?!"

The doctor looked at her for a second, then replied as gently as she could, "Your friend is still unconscious, but she'll live."

Riley didn't know is she should be relieved or sad. "Can I... Can I see her?" she then quietly asked.

The doctor nodded. "Room 208."

Never had Riley ran that fast in her life.

As soon as she got to the room, she hesitated, mentally preparing herself for what she might see. She took a deep breath and opened the door, only for the jaw to drop and her heart to wrench. "Maya..." she trailed off as she felt a lump in her throat. Maya was still unconscious, but she at least looked peaceful. Riley walked up to her side and immediately took her hand and held it gently. "If only... If only I had payed attention... we wouldn't be in this situation," Riley began, holding back tears. She then used her other hand to stroke Maya's cheek. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," she whispered as tears spilled down her face. "Wake up, Maya, I need you," she continued as she cried to her unconscious friend. "... I didn't mean for this to happen..."


	2. Wake up

Haven't really done angst, so bear with me.

Rilety et the tears flow as she continued to whispered "I'm sorry" over and over again. She didn't know what to say, nor what to do. She also didn't understand what Maya had done for her; why she put her life on the line for her. "I love you," she finally whimpered. "I love you with all of my heart, Peaches. Why did you do that?! Tell me why!" she yelled with a sob. All she wanted for for her friend to be awake; to be able to wipe away her tears and kiss her forehead, telling her that everything was alright. But it wasn't. Nothing was. So instead, she softly kissed Maya on the forehead and continued, "Please... just wake up." She didn't. "I don't deserve you," she whispered as she placed a gentle kiss on Maya's temple.

Maya wasn't able to wake up and deny that statement.

Riley held her hand again and watched her friend breathe, that being the only source of comfort she had right then and there. It was getting to the point where she couldn't handle it anymore. "I'm sorry! I let you down as your friend and your 'sister.' I need you in my life so please stay!" She could've sworn she felt Maya gently squeeze her hand, but she just figured it was just her imagination. "I'm worried about you...," she softly whispered in her ear. The she let go of her hand and leaned back in the chair. All kinds of thoughts swirled around in her head; that Maya wasn't going to wake up, that she didn't deserve her, that she was then bad friend. Finally, Riley groaned, stood up, and pressed a quick peck to her cheek, then spun on her heel and headed for the door.

"Ri... ley..."

Riley turned around and saw her friend's eyes open. "Maya?!"

Haha, I'm mean.


	3. awake

"You.. You're okay," riley quietly acknowledged as she stood there in shock.

"Yeah... what happened?" maya asked, her mind still feeling hazy.

Riley still stood frozen, not knowing if she should answer. Instead, she slowly walked back over to her side and whispered, "it's a long story."

Maya looked over and weakly smiled. "I'm a good listener."

Riley sighed and gave in. "You... jumped in front of a car to save me..."

Maya looked confused for a second, then suddenly everything came back to her: the car, crossing the street, joking around beforehand. "Oh, Riles..."

"I was so worried! you could've died!" Riley suddenly yelled at her, making Maya jump.

"I did it to protect you," Maya softly whispered.

Riley broke down started crying. "I... I know... I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..."

Maya reached over and gently took her friend's hand. "It's okay, I'm okay."

Riley couldn't look into her eyes without seeing pain, both physically and mentally. She wasn't "okay."

Maya let go of her hand, then gently took hold of Riley's chin and made her look. "Hey, talk to me." Tears trickled onto Maya's fingers, but she didn't care. She only cared that her best friend was okay.

"Seing you... on the ground unconscious... make me realize that I... don't deserve a friend like you," Riley barely spit out.

Maya felt tears on her own eyes.

"You broke you leg... because of me... I shouldn't be here right now, but...I loved you too much to not come..."

Tears spilled out of the corners of Maya's eyes, her heart hurting. "I love you too, and there's the proof. I did it because I love you. You deserve to be saved, even if I don't."

Riley stood up and yelled, "How can you say that?! You deserve to live!"

"You were saying the same thing, Riles," Maya quietly pointed out.

Riley froze once again. She _was_ saying the same thing. "I'm-"

"Stop saying you're sorry, it's okay," Maya interrupted with a soft smile.

Riley went back and sat next to her again, this time pressing her lips to Maya's cheek.

Maya leaned into her touch and sighed softly.

Riley pulled back after a while and whispered into her ear, "Thank you, for saving me." The room stayed silent for a while, Riley gently stroking Maya's cheeks and hair as a distraction from the pain.

Maya didn't want to express pain on the outside, but everything hurt. Bad.

Riley was still worried sick, but at least Maya was awake now.

Maya attempted to lean over and give her a kiss on the forehead, but she couldn't quite reach.

Riley noticed, so she closed the gap and let her. Forehead kisses were very comforting to her, and Maya knew that.

She wanted her friend to be Smiley Riley again.


	4. Wrong

The two friends looked into each other's eyes for a while, both not knowing what to say. There was a comforting smile on Maya's face, but Riley's didn't feel very comforted, and questioned if she would ever again

"I love you," Maya softly reminded.

Riley rested her chin on the hospital bed. "I love you too..."

Maya gently placed a hand on Riley's cheek and wiped away some stray tears. "Don't worry about me, I'm fine," she persisted with a kiss on the cheek.

Riley looked up at her, not truly believing that she was, indeed, okay.

Maya sighed. "Alright, so maybe I'm not entirely okay, but you still don't need to worry about me."

Riley stood up and yelled, "You got hit by a freaking car!"

Maya face flickered with the expression of guilt. "Shh, it's okay," she reminded her, not knowing what she could possibly say to calm her down.

"It's not! I just-"

Suddenly, the door opened and in came the nurse. "Sorry, am I interupting something?" she asked. Both shook their head no, so she continued, "You can leave whenever now, miss Hart."

One hour later...

Riley and Maya were now in Riley's bedroom. They stood in the middle of the room, hugging each other, not wanting to let go. Riley was also holding Maya steady, her not currently having her crutches. Finally, the two broke apart and looked at each other, hand in hand.

"Riley?"

"Yes?"

"Don't blame yourself. I broke my leg for jumping in front of a car, which was _my_ choice. Please, don't."

Riley said nothing as she tugged on her hand to bring her closer. She pressed a soft kiss to Maya's forehead, but still did not agree to not blame herself.

Maya sighed and pointed to the bed.

Riley understood. She tightened her grip of Maya's hand and helped over to the bed, then sat down next to her.

Maya immediately started to stroke Riley's cheek, showing her that she was alright.

Riley leaned into her touch slightly.

Maya used her other hand to turn Riley's face towards her.

Riley leaned into her touch more and closed her eyes, finally feeling content.

Maya smiled, happy that Riley was okay.

"How can I not blame myself...?" Riley asked as quietly as possible, almost hoping Maya wouldn't hear.

Maya sighed. "Only you can decide if you blame yourself or not."

Riley turned away from Maya, avoiding eye .

Maya sighed again. "Bed?"

Riley nodded, got up, and walked to the other side of the bed.

Maya carefully swung her broken leg around so she could get into bed too, the they both laid there, staring up at the ceiling. No goodnight, no nothing. Something was wrong.


	5. Time

Maya waited silently until she knew Riley had fallen asleep, then looked over at her friend and saw, that even in her sleep, she looked stressed out. Maya once again felt guilty. She did the right thing, didn't she? Maya was hesitant, not wanting to wake Riley, but still wanted to help her feel better. She carefully reached out and touched Riley's cheek, stroking her face to try and relax her.

Luckily for her, Riley didn't feel it.

"Goodnight, Riles, I love you," Maya whispered as softly as possible. She didn't dare get any closer, but at least her friend finally looked content.

Riley woke up in cold sweat. Maya. She looked over and saw her friend sleeping peacefully, despite the broken leg. Riley didn't want to wake her up, even though the nightmare had really shaken her up. So instead she just looked at her, eyesinspecting her features, soaking it all in. The car. She still couldn't believe it, and even shuddered at the thought. Riley almost decided against it, but still ended up lightly pecking Maya on the cheek. "I love you, Maya..." She wasn't sure why that had become hard to say out loud...

Maya was the first to wake in the morning. Almost immediately after she shook off the initial sleepiness, she heard Riley stir next to her. "Riley?"

Riley groaned sleepily and turned towards her. "Hey, Peaches."

Peaches? That was a good sign.

"How you feeling?" Riley asked her when Maya didn't respond.

"I'm fi- I'm okay. Could be better," Maya responded truthfully.

Riley nodded. "Thanks for being honest."

Maya looked at her for a second, then asked her a question that could possibly backfire. "Hey um... can we... Can we snuggle? I just really need some Riley cuddles right now..."

Riley almost laughed at her hesitance. "Of course, I just don't want to hurt you."

"You won't," Maya promised.

Riley finally smiled and opened her arms expectingly.

Maya practically jumped into her awaiting arms, almost immediately feeling a kiss on the top of her head. She cuddled closely to her, not wanting any of it to stop. "Don't... leave. Don't... stop," Maya choked out through tears.

"Shh, I won't," Riley promised while pulling her slightly closer. Maybe they weren't broken; maybe all it took was time.


	6. Comfort

"After everything we're been through, the last thing I want to do is leave," Riley whispered in her ear.

Maya whimpered and nuzzled against her.

Riley pressed a long, soft kiss to her forehead, breaking the tension that was once between them. She was still there, and didn't intend to leave.

When she stopped, Maya took one of Riley's hands and gently held it. They then stayed there in a comfortable silence, forehead to forehead. Why had saying "I love you" become hard for them? Had Maya's heroic act strained their friendship somehow? Both of them didn't understand what had happened, but they loved the place they had found at the moment. After a while, Maya started to slowly stroke the back of Riley's hand with her thumb.

Riley closed her eyes tightly as she tried not to cry. The moment in itself wasn't sad, but there were some memories you just couldn't forget.

Maya noticed Riley's hesitation to talk to her about it, so she spoke up, saying, "I'm sorry I put you through this."

Riley opened her eyes again and looked at her. "No, I'm sorry for getting mad. You saved my life, well sort of, you saved me a broken leg. But still, that was an amazing thing that you didn't have to do for me, but you did. Thank you."

Maya smiled slightly. "I'd do anything for you."

Riley sighed, deciding to tell Maya her experience before she had woken up. "When the doctor gave me permission to go and see you in the hospital, I ran the whole way. I got there and saw you, and I was so scared... At first I just whispered that I was sorry and I love you, but I felt like this was all my fault. Finally I just screamed at you for doing that for me; I screamed at you to answer me and tell me why you jumped in front of me. I immediately regretted it and felt bad. I was actually about to leave right before you woke up..."

Maya stared at her, surprised by her honesty. "Riley... I didn't know and I don't _want_ you to feel that way." She then kissed her on the nose. " _That's_ for your honesty."

Riley smiled a little at her "reward."

Maya brought their interlaced hands up and rested them to Riley's cheek, eyes full of warmth.

Riley leaned into it, fully taking this moment in.

"Don't blame yourself," Maya softly pleaded. "I did this, not you. This isn't your fault." Riley didn't respond verbally, but Maya could see it in her eyes that she understood.

"I was so worried about you..." Riley trailed off.

"I'm okay, I'm right here beside you," Maya quietly reminded.

Riley sighed and nuzzled her affectionately. She knew that Maya was right there, but it still seemed like it was too good to be true.


	7. Love

"I know you're there, I can feel it, but it's also hard to believe. I saw you on the ground... You looked dead! I was so scared...," Riley quietly admitted.

Maya looked at her, eyes filled with warmth, and yet, they were watery. She then softly kissed Riley's forehead and whispered in her ear, "I love you." There it was, I love you. It was finally said in person out of genuine love, not as a way to calm the other person down.

Riley looked up at her with wide eyes.

Maya tilted her head to the side, slightly confused. "What? Did I do something wrong?"

Riley shook her head and bit her lip.

"Then what's wrong?" Maya asked softly.

"You didn't do anything wrong, you did something right, and that's the problem...," Riley whispered under her breath.

Maya suddenly understood. I love you; I love you was what triggered her. "Riley, I do love you, I swear," Maya whispered with a kiss to her temple.

Riley looked at her as tears fell down her cheeks, hesitating to reply. "I... know."

Maya stroked away some of Riley's tears. "Why can't you say it?" she asked quietly.

Riley close her eyes, not wanting to meet Maya's gaze.

Maya breathed out, then gently pulled Riley under her chin.

She obliged and snuggled into her warmth.

Maya protectively kissed the top of her head and snuggled further against her, resting her cheek on her head afterwards. Occasionally she would softly hum as she ran her fingers through Riley's hair. She heard her whimpe, but didn't say anything in frar of making her feel worse. Maya had to bite her lip to refrain from saying I love you again, not knowing how she'll react. It hurt her; It hurt her to think that what she did had strained her relationship with Riley.

Riley didn't even understand why she we become resilient to the I love you's that she received. She didn't like it.

She ended up falling asleep in Maya's arms.

Maya was really worried about her, having noticed that she was wasn't smiling as much as she did before the... accident. "I'm sorry, Riles, I'm so sorry," she quietly appologized. She then buried her face into Riley's hair and continued, "I do love you, you'll see..."

Sorry that these chapters are short, I've just been working on other things :)


	8. Always and forever (end)

Riley didn't sleep for much longer, only about thirty minutes.

Maya held her the entire time, close, protecting her from... well, everything.

When Riley woke up, she said nothing, but did allow Maya to hold her. She still craved affection, even though 'I love you' had become hard to say.

Maya realized Riley had woken up, but decided to remain silent as well. "Riley?" She finally whispered after a long pause.

"Hey."

Maya did nothing but kiss the top of her head after she had replied.

Riley sighed." Maya?"

"Yeah?"

Riley hesitated, but still admitted, "I... I love... I love you..."

Maya smiled brightly. "I love you so much, Riley," Maya replied, unable to contain her excitement.

Riley smiled as she began to cry.

Maya didn't know why she had started crying, but she still quickly kissed her forehead and whispered, "You're okay."

Riley sat up a little and pressed a soft kiss to Maya's forehead. "I love you. I-It was to hard before because I feel like I didn't deserve to love you. I knew you loved me back, but I just... couldn't bring myself to say it," Riley explained, her voice shaky.

Maya held back tears as she responded, "You deserve it, you're a great person. I love you too, and if anything, I don't deserve _you_." Before Riley could protest, she continued, "And don't say that I _do_ deserve you, because you were going on about how you thought you didn't deserve me as well. It would be a useless loop if you do that."

Riley clamped her mouth shut and nodded.

Maya's expression softened after Riley agreed. "Sorry," she began, "I didn't mean to be harsh."

Riley nuzzled her cheek. "I knew you weren't trying to."

Maya smiled and leaned into her touch. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry for putting you a situation in which you were worried sick. I never wanted you to feel that way, Riles," Maya softly apologized.

Riley's heart melted at the genuineness in Maya's voice. She nuzzled further against her cheek as she admitted, "You mean so much to me, that's why I was so worried. I... love you and I always will."

Maya finally nuzzled her back. "You mean a lot to me as well."

Riley grinned and teased, "What? You don't love me back?"

Maya smiled. "You know that's not true."

Riley leaned over and kissed her cheek. "Thank you... for everything."

Maya gently tucked Riley's hair behind her ear. "You know I'll do anything for you, whether it's to protect you or to be your shoulder to cry on."

Riley grinned, all the doubts she once had, completely gone. "And I'm yours. Always."

Maya smiled back and nuzzled her affectionately.

 **Always: the literal definition is "at all times; on all occasions," and that alone meant so much. They were there for each other, forever and always.**

So, there's the ending. Please review if you enjoyed this and thank you for reading :) *Fist-bump*


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